One of the banes of the regular traveler or those working or engaging in sports and away from their residence is the maintenance of regular dental hygiene. This is particularly true for the traveler who may spend many hours without facilities or dental hygiene supplies, such as a toothbrush, dentifrice, mouthwash and dental floss. Most persons note after a few hours, an unpleasant feeling of known bacteria and plaque buildup which is usually accompanied by unpleasant breath, often undetected by the person directly but a condition or risk with which the person is acutely aware. This latter problem has given rise to the increasing popularity of spray type breath deodorizers and "breath mints". The users of such sprays or lozenges fully recognize that the effect is primarily cosmetic or masking and does not attack the real problem of bacteria and plaque removal nor does it provide any cleaning, polishing or improvement in the condition of the surfaces of the teeth, gums, tongue, and surrounding mucosa of the mouth.
There are four primary limitations to good oral hygiene practices away from home. The first is the unavailability of suitable water and disposal facilities for the actual process associated with the cleaning procedures. The second limitation is the lack of privacy for the procedures of brushing, rinsing, expectoration and cleanup. The third limitation is the lack of reasonable cleanliness. The fourth limitation is the lack of convenience of being able to perform the procedures. These principal limitations to good dental hygiene away from home are exemplified by the plight of the business traveler. A 14-hour day of sales calls rarely, if ever, includes a suitable facility with water for brushing, rinsing, expectoration and clean-up. There are few private areas for such procedures. Even if such an area could be found, it is most likely to be in the restroom of a less than frequently cleaned road side filling station, usually inconvenient located, leading to the further frustration of being unable to accomplish any dental hygiene routine or procedure.